Car bulldozes through Hutton garden wall of Rose, 85

A PENSIONER had a lucky escape after a car veered from the road, collided with a parked vehicle and careered through her garden wall – the fifth time a car has ended up in her garden.

Rose Hibbitt, 85, had been cutting her front lawn in Woodland Avenue, Hutton, hours before the red Ford Fiesta Zetec rounded a bend, hit a stationary Mercedes 180, mounted the pavement and smashed into her boundary wall.

A police car and a rapid response vehicle from Brentwood ambulance station rushed to the scene but no one was injured.

Ms Hibbitt said at the scene: "I didn't see or hear anything until somebody knocked on my door and said 'A car is in your garden'.

She added: "This is the fifth time this has happened.

"This is a dangerous road."

Her neighbour Richard Norris, 35, said: "I heard it and thought it was a fast jet flying over at first.

"Then I looked out of the window and saw that the car was there.

"This has happened to Rose five times before but this morning she was out mowing her lawn so it could have been a hell of a lot worse."

When asked if she felt that she'd had a lucky escape, Ms Hibbitt replied: "I suppose so.

"I don't really know – I haven't really thought about it."

As for what she planned to do next, she said: "Don't ask me."

Mr Norris, an IT professional who has lived in Woodland Avenue for the past five years, added: "This is the first time it has happened since I've lived here and I am of a good mind to write to the council and give them my opinion as to what should be in place.

"As a minimum, I think there should be double yellow lines on this bend."

But Ms Hibbitt remained more sceptical about what this would achieve.

She said: "The council won't do anything for us, will they?"

Police were called to Woodland Avenue at 3.35pm on Wednesday, May 16.

The driver, believed to be in his late teens or early twenties, was treated for minor shock at the scene.

His car was left with a dented bonnet, a wrecked front bumper and smashed headlights.

A police spokesman told the Gazette: "Police are investigating the circumstances leading to the crash.